Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Pizmon typically perform?

During a typical academic year, Pizmon will perform for more than fifty audiences ranging from Jewish day schools to homes for the elderly to entire synagogue communities. Pizmon continually strives to have a community-wide impact, and as such we gladly perform at any and all public community events and venues. These include, but are not limited to, Jewish day schools, homes for the elderly, synagogues, and Jewish community centers.

Does Pizmon perform for private events?

Unfortunately, no. Due to our busy performance and academic schedules and our particular desire to impact communities as a whole, we are unable to perform for personal weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, or family gatherings.

Concert: We perform sets that can range from ten minutes to one hour, tailoring our song selection to fit the demographic of the audience. Our repertoire includes classical liturgical pieces, Israeli rock and pop, children’s songs, and Yiddish classics.Workshops: Workshops provide some of the most memorable moments of Pizmon’s visits. Children are divided up into age groups and given the opportunity to learn some of our favorite Jewish songs, which they then perform in front of their peers and teachers. Workshops are typically used in Sunday schools and Jewish day schools, but can also be adapted for teens and adults. For high school audiences, we often include a question and answer session about Jewish life on college campuses.Shabbat Zemirot: We perform smaller sets during community-wide Friday night dinner and Shabbat lunch, often teaching some of our favorite tunes and leading the community in singing zemirot (songs for Shabbat) and Birkat HaMazon (the blessing after meals).Shabbat Services: We are happy to lead any portion of Shabbat services, including:

Kabbalat Shabbat and Maariv on Friday night

Shacharit and Musaf on Saturday morning

and Havdalah on Saturday night

Those of us who are not leading services will actively harmonize and take part in the services. We also frequently incorporate some of our liturgical pieces into the service, often in the place of a sermon (we call this our “sermon and song”).

Who runs Pizmon?

Pizmon is a student-run group affiliated with the Barnard-Columbia Hillel.

What is MOI?

MOI is our annual Music Outreach Initiative spring break trip, during which we visit communities that we are not able to reach during the school year. Through this trip, we aspire to heighten the Jewish experience of the communities we visit, engage in community service oriented work, and spread our love of Jewish music to residents of old age homes, hospitals, schools, and congregations. The funds we raise from our performances during the academic year allow us to cover the bulk of the expenses of our Musical Outreach Initiative. In the past, we have traveled overseas to countries including Costa Rica, Panama, England, Wales, France, Ukraine, Canada, Israel, Poland, and Brazil, and domestically to New Mexico, Arizona, Washington, California, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.